For A Lark
by Kaliotrimma
Summary: Hibari receives a Valentine's Day present that he actually appreciates. Another 1896 oneshot.


Lol, a day late? Actually I posted this yesterday on DA, I just forgot to upload it here. Please forgive me! *bows*

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_While I know that this is probably very odd, I would still like to give you this. Hibari-san, Please accept this!_  
Hibari tilted his head at the card. The person who had written it had done so in a shaky hand. However, the single rose that had come with it was a welcome change from Valentine's chocolate. Too much chocolate made him nauseous. Just the smell of it was headache inducing. But this girl had given him a rose in full bloom. Roses were acceptable. Now who was the girl?  
He flipped the card on its back, looking for a name. There was none; but an indent in the paper told him his benefactor had wished to sign and changed her mind. He squinted at the mark, as if that would tell him who had sent it.  
Of course that didn't help him.  
Hibari thought for a moment, then came to a conclusion. If he failed to find his... secret admirer, of sorts, through searching, perhaps it would be easier to draw her out. He carefully clipped most of the stem from the rose and tucked it into the lapel of his shirt. He would carefully observe the reactions to it, and those reactions would reveal his target.

Chrome tiptoed past the school, wondering to herself why she took such care. Namimori was a big school. There was no reason for her to be cautious passing it by; it wasn't as if she would attract his attention by just walking past the school...  
So of course, instead, she nearly ran into him turning a corner.

He knew the girl, of course; she'd fought with him on occasion. And by with him, he meant somewhere in his peripheral vision. But the way she started and danced out of the way was odd. Very odd. And then her single eye shot straight to the rose.

He was wearing the rose she had sent him.

She was staring at the rose.

Did he know she had sent it?

She had sent the rose.

Chrome flushed, stumbling backward on suddenly weak knees. "Um. Um I'm very sorry Hibari-san, I didn't mean to-to almost walk into you, I wasn't paying attention to..."  
Hibari tilted his head at her like a bird. "Chrome Dokuro."  
Chrome made a small 'eep' noise before responding. "Y-yes?"  
He plucked the rose from his shirt without looking. "This."  
Chrome covered her face with both hands, bright red with embarrassment.  
"Ah. From you, then."  
Chrome flinched backwards. She desperately didn't want to answer him. So instead she caved to her instinct to flee.  
Unfortunately, the direction she fled to put her directly on Namimori grounds. And Hibari was much faster than her. His hand caught her wrist, successfully halting her.  
And then she was stuck in the middle of Namimori's grounds, surrounded by students. In a Kokuyo uniform. She stood out, and not because Hibari was attached to her. Although that probably didn't help matters.  
In fact, a good deal of the girls passing by were giving her that specific kind of glare that only girls can do. Hibari was silent for enough time that a fair amount of horrible glares were directed at her.

Hibari was momentarily speechless. Certainly there was no doubt that she had sent the flower, but why was he so intent on her? Because of that?  
He was feeling uncomfortable. Also, he was now the center of a crowd, which only fed the discomfort. And Chrome was incredibly obvious in the center of a crowd- she was in a uniform that didn't match, and therefore, was not uniform.  
"Hibari-san?" Chrome squeaked out finally, releasing him from his desperate search for something to say. "Would you please let go of my wrist?"  
He glanced down to see that indeed, his fingers were still clamped around her pale skin. "Ah."

His grip on her hadn't been very tight at all, but Chrome was still glad when he let go. It was embarrassing to have a boy holding on to you like that. "H-Hibari-san..."  
"Chrome. I thank you for the gift."  
Chrome felt her face heat. "B-but it was just a flower..."  
"Chocolate is far easier to obtain than a fresh rose in winter."

His cheeks felt hot; Hibari wondered if he was overdressed for the weather. But Chrome was red in the face as well; perhaps there was something going around and they had both caught it? It was unimportant, however. More important was the way his hands trembled. He was at a loss for words. Odd.

Hibari was flushing at her. Chrome attempted to force back her shock. She felt her heart leap slightly; Hibari was embarrassed. "Um. Well. I just... thought that it would be a nice change from chocolate... because... well I noticed that you always get uncomfortable around chocolate."  
"A-ah. I see."  
"So... I just figured... that maybe a rose would be better." She said this very fast, as if it would serve to make it less awkward. It didn't. Chrome made a very small noise. "S-so. Happy Valentine's day, Hibari-san?"  
Hibari nodded faintly, as if he was lightheaded. The chime of the bell began to sound, and it seemed to knock him out of whatever state he had been in.  
To her surprise, he bowed to her. "Please excuse me, Chrome-san."  
Chrome felt her mouth go dry. Because he had smiled faintly at her. And possibly, he hadn't realized that he had done it.

Hibari's footstep echoed in the hallways, too loud. And racing through his head were thoughts of what to purchase for Saint White's day.

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SEQUEL HOOK YEAH I mean what? Yeah, I have a White Day version planned. :D

Reviews will serve to make Hibari less grumpy and awkward! WAIT DO WE WANT THAT?


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